As we continue to make our Baseball Bucket List a reality, we are getting to travel to one of the most traveled cities in the WORLD... New York City! This was the first time Chris and the kids had been to New York City but Kellie had been several times in her teenage years. This was a TRIP of a LIFETIME and we splurged on just about EVERYTHING!
We have highlighted our daily activities and travels through NYC as well as our path to 2 new stadiums for ALL FOUR OF US since Kellie visited Old Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium! These blog posts have tips, tricks and pictures to help you plan your own vacation to NYC. Once again, we appreciate your continued support of our blog by clicking on the daily posts. We wouldn't be as popular or successful if it weren't for you all. Thank you so much!
We LOVED this trip SO MUCH! We will be back... NYC has my heart!
This trip had it all and was absolutely fabulous! We are so grateful to have the school calendar we have and be able to travel during the early part of baseball season! Where will April 2024 take us... California, take 3? Let's wait and see!
We woke up a little earlier than previous days just so we could eat breakfast and then get all of our suitcases packed and ready for our trek and flight back to God's Country. After we ate breakfast and got our suitcases all packed up, we meandered the streets of lower Manhattan and the area around the One World Trade Center one more time. This allowed us to get a few last minute souvenirs we were lacking as well. We grabbed a coffee and we were on our way back to the hotel to load up and go to the airport within 90 minutes.
A view from Maiden Street just outside our hotel. This view NEVER GETS OLD!
Priceless memories!
Once back at the hotel we got a phone call that the car I arranged with Airport Taxi Service was already waiting for us about 30 minutes early. We warmed up our Chinatown Wo-Hop leftovers from a few days prior and had a quick lunch before heading to the airport- We were trying to save money!
We checked out of the hotel around 11AM and loaded up in a Cadillac Escalade to make our 1:15 minute trip to JFK Airport in lower Brooklyn. Our driver was superb and the ride was smooth. It is always sad to leave a city, despite being ready to get home, but New York just hit me different and I was legitimately sad to go! We tipped our driver REALLY well and we were in the airport by 12:15 for our 2:20PM flight back to Houston.
Hello Escalade! We are rolling home in STYLE!
We will probably NEVER see the inside of a decked out Cadillac Escalade ever again... So might as well take a picture! It will last longer!
It's time to drive ride across the Brooklyn Bridge!
Goodbye Manhattan... it's been real!
One final look at Manhattan!
Afternoon
We loaded up on water and snacks in the airport, for almost as much as I paid for the ride cross borough to get to the airport- I seriously cannot believe how expensive airport food is! Our plane arrived on time and we were on the plane before 2PM. However, the airport was experiencing some weather issues and we were delayed in taking off for over an hour. It is so aggravating when you are ON the plane and have to wait just to take off or get into your parking spot! The kids were not bothered by this as they had their iPads but I was getting anxious with the whole ordeal. We were airborne around 3:25PM and had to take a different route than originally planned due to rain all over the central US.
Our ride has arrived... let's go home!
All smiles as we loaded up for take off... (excuse the crazy hair, I was tired)
Evening
The flight was very uneventful, which is always a good thing, and we were back in God's Country before the sun set. As with any trip when you check luggage, it took us nearly an hour to get out of the airport and back on I-45 toward our house in The Woodlands but we were home shortly after 8PM.
This was the TRIP OF A LIFETIME and I am so glad we saved the extra money to do this trip right. We splurged on SO MUCH from the hotel room to the Yankees Tickets to the shopping on 5th Avenue but I think we made some memories that our kids (and us too) will NEVER FORGET! I love New York City and always have... I will be back! And hopefully soon (Hint, hint Chris... Birthday trip, maybe).
NYC will ALWAYS have my HEART!
Thanks for following along! We do not have a massive family SUMMER TRIP planned since Natalie is SO BUSY with band camp, youth camp, mission trip and now HIGH SCHOOL Marching Band and Volleyball commitments. (I still cannot believe she will be a FRESHMAN in August, where has the time gone?) And Luke has a full summer season of baseball and a World Series again. I am so grateful that New Caney ISD has the bonus Spring Breaks and we are able to take this BASEBALL TRIPS in April each year! As much as we spent on this week, I know it would be SO MUCH more if we had to take it in June or July! I do not know where April 2024 Baseball will take us but I imagine it will be OUT WEST- I only lack Dodgers, Angels and Oakland!
Chris and I will be sailing on Allure of the Seas in July and we are VERY excited to finally sail on a MEGA-SHIP! Stay tuned for details about this voyage! You do not want to miss this!
It might have been our last day but we made the most of every single minute!
Morning
We each had a very good night's sleep and we went and got breakfast in the hotel shortly before 9:30AM. The breakfast was great again and we then made our way to Fulton Street Station to get to 5th Avenue to do some shopping. We started at Macy's shortly after they opened their doors. Natalie LOVED this experience and so did I. We got some super cute clothes from the Backstage area of the 5th floor for Natalie and a cute blouse to wear to work for me. Chris spent this store at Starbucks inside Macy's.
We LOVED getting to shop on 5th, 6th and 7th Avenues in Midtown Manhattan! These are some of my favorite shots of the kids in NYC!
This girl was so excited with her first NYC purchase!
We then kept walking south on 5th Avenue and stopped at the Crocs Store. My kids, like 99% of American kids these days, LOVE Crocs and wear them constantly. We did not buy any Croc shoes but we did get 10 croc charms which they LOVED.
This 3 story store was pretty cool. Too bad we already had 27 pairs of Crocs each!
After the Crocs store we went into the MASSIVE H&M Store on 5th avenue. I remember going into my first H&M in NYC back in 1995 and I was blown away at the cute styles and very reasonable prices. I remember saving up money for my 2nd and 3rd trip to NYC just to go in this store! We stayed in this store for a little while and Natalie got a haul of cute clothes (seriously like 5-6 things) and I got a cute summer maxi dress... All for less than $100.
I love H&M... I think we may go and shop at the one in Houston this summer! I've always found great deals!
After H&M we went to Natalie's favorite store... AMERICAN EAGLE. This store was HUGE and Natalie was in heaven. She found 2 pairs of jeans she had been eyeing and got them at 55% off what she would pay for them at the AE in our mall. She was VERY HAPPY (and so was Chris- raising a teenage daughter ain't cheap)
2 jeans and 2 shirts... It was not cheap to say the least!
This American Eagle store was HUGE- Between 5th and 6th Avenue on 34th Street!
As soon as we left the American Eagle store, it was time to spoil LUKE so we made our way back towards the MLB Flagship store off of 6th Avenue. We knew about this and had went inside on day 1 while waiting for our Top of the Rock time but Luke did not have a chance to really look around. He was in heaven and wanted just about everything they offered. He spent all of his money from Gigi and Poppy, all of his allowance money he brought and a few "early" birthday money as well. He got all kinds of stuff but his favorite was the MLB NYC shirt and a Houston Astros hat. He spent as much in this ONE store as Natalie did at all the other stores. You only live once in NYC and I really wanted to treat the kids as best I could.
We loved the downstairs area of the MLB store... It had some AWESOME memorabilia!
This was the shirt... Has all of the MLB team and is sold ONLY at the MLB Flagship Store in NYC! $39 shirt... For a KID!
I love his reaction seeing even more stuff at the check out... "I want that"!
This was one of the things he saw... "I would cut the veggies everyday if we could get an Astros one"! I was intrigued... Until I saw the price tag- $90
I would say his shopping spree was a SUCCESS! PS- Chris also got a great souvenir here too so he was not left out!
We then got on the subway to go back to the Harry Potter store to really enjoy it. We took the subway back to Broadway and 22nd street and immediately got in line for a Butter Beer. WOW... These were SO GOOD (No alcohol, just has the "beer name). They were $13 each and WELL worth it since you got to keep the plastic cup. Luke did not want the Butter Beer so he got Butter Beer infused ice cream and he really enjoyed that. After our snack, we then walked around store more leisurely than before and Natalie ended up getting her very own Elder Wand and Luke got a few Knick knacks and pencils for school.
Seriously DO NOT miss out on the Butter Beer... This stuff was SO GOOD!
I snuck a bite of Luke's Butter Beer flavored Ice Cream and it was really good too!
Afternoon After Harry Potter, we got back on the subway and went over to Brooklyn to see DUMBO and enjoy lunch in this borough. The subway over to Brooklyn was very fast and not at all busy coming from mid-town Manhattan on a Friday afternoon. Once we arrived in Brooklyn we casually found our way over to the DUMBO area of Brooklyn to see the Brooklyn bridge. Then we went to Time Out Market to look for lunch and get a restroom break. We really wanted to have Brooklyn style pizza IN Brooklyn and we ended up eating lunch at Ignazio's Pizza.WOW... This was a home run grand-slam! This pizza was SO GOOD and cooked absolutely perfect. We got a margarita pizza and a calzone to share and they were both superb! We really enjoyed Ignazio's and when we return, this will be on our list to go to again!
It took us a quick minute to find the "DUMBO" area... We thought this was it but it was not the picture-perfect area.
Another view of the REAL DUMBO area!
Be still my heart!
We really enjoyed this area and I am so glad we made the trek out here!
Making the pizza in the Brick Oven... Wow, it was so good!
The Calzone... WOW, I was a little worried the kids would not like it but they DESTROYED IT! The ricotta was excellent!
The classic "margarita" pizza... This was some of the best pizza I have had In. MY. LIFE!
New York City AIN'T CHEAP!
We love Ignazio's! We WILL be back!
After lunch we made our way to the start of the Brooklyn Bridge to walk back into Manhattan. This was a bucket list item I REALLY wanted to do since Chris and I have walked across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and LOVED that experience. Once on the bridge there were all kinds of vendors selling stuff crap and we purchased some great T-Shirts and other tourist souvenirs on our walk back to Manhattan. TIP- The items OFF the bridge in Brooklyn were better priced than on the bridge. Luke got a Yankees Next Era cap for only $15. Natalie paid $37 for the SAME hat inside Yankee Stadium the night before. It was VERY crowded at 2PM on a Friday but we still got some great pictures.
The start of the walking path of the Brooklyn Bridge!
This guy really liked this journey back into Manhattan!
Another Bucket List check-off!
I loved getting to share this with my boy!
I have said it practically every other paragraph but I LOVE THIS CITY! This view NEVER, EVER gets old!
Another view of midtown Manhattan!
She allowed me to take a picture with her on the Bridge! *By midweek she was just about over the pictures!
This is a CLASSIC shot of the Brooklyn Bridge with OWTC and American Flag in the background!
Family Selfie!
We did not find a "Welcome to NY" sign so this was close enough!
Chris wants to get pictures at all of the "Welcome" signs. We have now failed at California AND New York!
Once back in Manhattan we were HOT as it was 93* on this day and we were sweating a lot so we wanted to take the subway back to our hotel which was only 4 blocks away. This was a mistake as by the time we go to the right subway, we could have just walked to our hotel. But nonetheless we arrived at our hotel around 3PM and rested for a while before all taking showers and getting ready for our second Yankees game that night.
Evening Once we were all ready, we made our way back to Fulton Street Station and got on the subway to Yankee Stadium. We arrived around 5PM and the gates did not open until 5:30PM so we walked around the stadium and nearby stores killing some time. We knew we had seats in the upper decks of the outfield so we went towards Gate 8 to get in the stadium. There was a random line that had formed on it's own and we asked what it was for. Someone said "Company X is all going in this side gate". We looked at each other and decided to chance it. It worked out as we were able to get inside the stadium around 5:40PM shortly after they opened the gates and they NEVER asked for our company ticket. We all 4 got Tino Martinez Bobbleheads as well!
It was rare we ALL FOUR got to sit down on a rush hour subway!
Hello Gorgeous... Seriously LOVE this place! TOP THREE Stadium (Hands down)
We're BACK!
She got her Foam Finger to add to her collection!
Once inside Yankee Stadium we went straight to Monument Park in the outfield. TIP- Monument Park is an area in Center Field of Yankee Stadium that honors the MANY greats of Yankee history. Being a HUGE Yankees fan all my life, this was SO COOL! This area is FREE and be sure to check it out when you visit Yankee Stadium but it is only open the 90 minutes before the first pitch!
This is such a COOL experience! DO NOT MISS IT!
He wants to be a pitcher like Andy Petite.
My favorite YANKEE catcher of all time My ALL TIME FAVORITE CATCH is PUDGE Rodriguez! Best Catcher Ever... Change my mind!
I was in YANKEE heaven!
The reason he wears #2... The greatest player of all time- Derek Jeter!
I love this guy!
More of Monument Park!
The BABE!
And easily the greatest CLOSER of all time... Mariana Rivera! I have seen him pitch 4 times!
His number-sake!
TINO... We loved the Bobbleheads!
Monument Park as seen from Section 409
After our tour in Monument Park, we walked a little bit more in the lower decks of the outfield since we did not get the chance on the previous day! We then went up to the upper decks to try and get some food before the first pitch. We landed at a basic concession but it offered a $24.99 "Bucket of Chicken and Fries". WOW... This was a HUGE bucket of chicken strips (10-12 strips) and more fries than even a family of four could eat. This was EASILY the BEST VALUE at Yankee Stadium and since I paid with my Mastercard (sponsor and official Credit Card of Yankees), we got a FREE 1 liter of Pepsi as well. This basically fed by entire family dinner and it was WELL worth it!
Frame Worthy!
This girl was loving her SWAG!
It was 95*... It was HOT and I needed to cool down!
We opted to take the elevator to the top!
Pepsi Concession on the upper decks! Concession prices are OUTRAGEOUS... Except the VALUE BASKET which is reasonable!
This boy was hungry and truly believed he was going to eat ALL of this... He made a 5 strip dent!
The Star Spangled Banner from YANKEE Stadium... It doesn't much more AMERICAN than this!
Once in our seats we enjoyed a MUCH better game. The Yankees were hitting well and we even got to see Judge hit Home Run # 5 of the 2023 season. This was a LIFE EXPERIENCE and I will never forget Luke's reaction to this home run! We also got to see Anthony Volpe and Stanton hit a Home run as well. It was a MAGICAL night at Yankee Stadium and we LOVED it!
A view from our seats in section 409. These seats were MUCH cheaper at only $26/ ticket.
A view of the field from our seats... It may not be great but it had the classic Yankee Stadium awning view which I enjoyed!
I was wrong... The absolute BEST VALUE in Yankee Stadium is this $1 bag available at the TEAM STORE!
Raising him right... We stand for the National Anthem!
MLB is doing a GREAT job with this as well... Entire teams STANDING! Gotta love MLB!
Picture Perfect! I LOVED sharing this with Nattie!
This was EXCELLENT!
This was THE BEST WAY TO END OUR TRIP!
Silly one!
We stayed the entire game this time but we left our upper level seats towards the end of the 8th inning to get a few last minute pictures and memories inside Yankee Stadium. I think Chris was getting a little upset with me as I just did not want to leave. The nostalgia and memories were just PERFECT. We boarded the very busy (but NOTHING like the previous night's) train back to Manhattan at 9:25PM and we were back in our hotel shorty after 10:30PM.
I LOVED this game so much! It had ALL of the classic baseball and YANKEE feels!
On Level 200
I loved this area too!
Once in a lifetime trip...
Thank you for sharing this with me!
This boy was sad to leave... he loved Yankee Stadium!
Thank you Chris... Love you!
It's so hard... To say Goodbye!
She is just a beauty!
You can't tell but I was crying... literal tears!
This was such a GREAT day and I LOVED every minute of it!
All that shopping helped increase these numbers!!!
Up Next... our last morning in NYC and our flight back to God's Country!
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